


A Great Hope Fell

by mirandible



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Dadza, Dehumanization, Dream Smp, Emotional Baggage, Family Feels, Found Family, Hurt No Comfort, I am accepting the call to action, Manburg Festival Aftermath, Objectification, Pogtopia, Trauma, in-universe I mean, it's pain there is pain I am suffering and you will too, this fandom needs more Technoblade angst, you cannot tell me the way wilbur and tommy treat techno is okay and if you do you are wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:34:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27393553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mirandible/pseuds/mirandible
Summary: “Son,” Phil greets softly, mournful gaze reaching cold, dead eyes.“Philza,” Techno replies.-In the aftermath of the Festival, Philza pays his family a visit.
Relationships: Dave | Technoblade & Phil Watson, Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit & Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson
Comments: 78
Kudos: 948





	A Great Hope Fell

**Author's Note:**

> “A great hope fell  
> You heard no noise  
> The ruin was within.”  
> -Emily Dickinson (as per usual)
> 
> Been a while since I've posted, huh?

Phil remembers meeting Technoblade.

He remembers dead eyes watching him with a gaze more chilling than the Antarctic wind, remembers the lethal shimmer of enchanted diamond and the piercing screams that came along with it. He remembers the way people spoke of Techno, as a beast and a weapon and a god who showed no mercy, and he remembers Techno presenting himself as exactly that.

He remembers how long it took Techno to lower his guard, months of faithful alliance before the man would even _consider_ turning his back to him. He remembers the first time he heard Techno laugh, not the deep rumbling chuckle but the strange breathy _laugh_ , the first time he ever saw something like _life_ in those fearless crimson eyes.

He remembers fighting alongside the Blood God in war after war as enemies and allies alike invaded their land, desperate for recognition as the one who finally took him down. He remembers pausing in battle to watch in awe as his ally—dare he say his _friend_ —cut down the opposing forces with a ruthless ease, remembers them declaring him a monster, a _thing,_ remembers Techno flashing sharpened teeth and proving them right. He remembers Techno telling him, sleeplessly delirious in front of a map of the earth, green lines painstakingly plotted to perfectly calculated coordinates, that he had never placed as much trust in someone as he did Phil. Coming from the man who would sooner die than be alone with him without a sword, it made something twist deep in his chest.

He remembers Wilbur joining their little group, and Tommy shortly after, remembers pranks and banter that made him laugh so hard his stomach ached, remembers competing against and then alongside them in a groundbreaking new tournament. He remembers the grin on Tommy‘s face when Techno said he was “carrying,” remembers pride swelling in his chest as Techno gleefully announced his individual lead of over a _thousand_ points, remembers smiling and waving and seeing, for the first time, true happiness shining in Techno’s eyes as they stood on stage and gladly accepted their place as victors.

He remembers wondering how strange it must have felt, for Techno, to be on a pedestal and not be _alone_.

He remembers all of it, every memory they’ve shared, the good and the bad and the bloody (there’s a lot of those), and he feels it all come to a head when he enters Pogtopia.

He talks to Wilbur, talks Wilbur down, talks Wilbur into getting some sleep because the bags beneath his eyes are darker than obsidian and heavier too and him sleeping gives Phil time to formulate a plan. He is hurting in a way Phil needs time to fix.

He talks to Tommy, gives him someone to vent to that won’t attack or tell him he’s wrong, gives him a shoulder to cry on and a chance to be a kid because _god_ he’s grown up too fast. No child should have had to even _consider_ making the sacrifices Tommy so readily gives away. He is hurting in a way Phil fears he may not be able to fix.

It takes hours of searching to find Techno, with Wilbur dead to the world and Tommy proclaiming the man dead to _him_ , but eventually he manages.

(It takes a poorly written note for him to do it, coordinates scrawled on a scrap of paper in dark green ink, but Techno doesn’t need to know that.)

He drops down into Techno’s base, impressed by how well he’s hidden it, and carefully creeps towards the room on the far side.

His friend—dare he say his _family_ —is crouched in front of an enchantment table, carving runes into the side of a crossbow. Several others line the tops of bookshelves on the walls.

He takes a single step forwards and doesn’t even get a chance to blink before Techno is on his feet and turning to aim the firework-loaded weapon at the center of his chest. 

His finger stays locked on the trigger even as their gazes meet. Dread swells in Phil’s throat and his heart _aches_.

“Son,” he greets softly, mournful gaze reaching cold, dead eyes.

“Philza,” Techno replies.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: has a million half-finished projects including that AU I really want to continue and hasn't posted in months  
> Also me: haha random one-shot I wrote while waiting for my mom this morning go brrrr
> 
> Hope you guys like this :) Maybe I'll start posting again now? Maybe? Who knows. I have an idea for a follow-up piece to this one, might give that a go if this is well-received.
> 
> Wilbur and Tommy treating Techno like a sword to swing and then getting mad when he hurts someone is _prime_ angst material, alright?
> 
> Side note: what's the deal with people writing fics in all lowercase? That's not cute, it's just irritating. Why, as an author, would you purposely inconvenience your readers? What purpose does that serve? I have never once seen a fic where a lack of capital letters actually _added_ anything to the fic.


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